Thursday, February 7, 2013

Beware of All Enterprises That Require Real Clothes

I'm very excited to be joining Killer Hobbies as the new Thursday blogger. Many thanks to my fellow cozy authors for this wonderful invitation. As some of you may already know, I'm the author of the Black Sheep Knitting Mysteries (Gallery/S&S) -- a cozy series about five friends who love to knit, gossip, swap recipes... and solve crimes.

The fifth title in the series, The Silence of the Llamas was just published on

January 22 and I've been out the last few days, doing some publicity.

I always look forward to meeting readers, and talking about mysteries and the writing process. But as my favorite philosopher, Henry David Thoreau once warned, "Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes."

My personal version is more like, "Beware of all enterprise that require real clothes." Something more than worn out jeans and a sweatshirt, I mean. Not to mention good underwear. And make-up... And don't forget pantie hose and heels. ..Ugh. I'm sure if Thoreau had to wiggle into any of that, his warning would have been much stronger. And he definitely would have hid out in that little cabin longer than a year.

But, as noted above, despite the torturous undergarments, I do love to get out and meet Black Sheep fans. Many of them, knitters, of course. At the signing last Friday night, for the first time on any stage, I debuted one of my own knitting projects. (Drum roll, please!) A rather wide, long, snarly-looking? scarf -- which could easily wrap twice around my Subaru. But I am (unduly) proud of it. Also, it matches my good coat (and the rocking chair in our living room as you can see below.) Perfect accessory for book signings, would you not agree?

The pattern is ridiculously simple. If you blend two interesting looking yarns, it has a great texture and looks like you really know your stuff. I used #19 needles, substantial enough to seriously maim, if not murder, someone. Which does give me an idea...

Probably, any large needles will do. As for the yarn, I used a coffee brown 10 cm gauge pure wool yarn. Two skeins, about 140 yards. This was paired with a thinner, turquoise-blue-green --contrasting but complementary. Use the two strands together, as if they are one. Cast on 15 stitches and then use only a knit stitch throughout. Make sure you save enough of both colors for the fringe. I forgot and had to rip out a few rows.

Luckily, knitting is a flexible and forgiving art, very much like writing. When all is said and done, you would never know any revisions were needed at all.

I kind of like getting dressed up - yes, it can be a nuisance, but there's something about putting on a fancy hat to top off the outfit that makes me feel as if this is an important occasion. It also makes me memorable, and when all else fails, it gives me something to talk about.